Power inverters
 

Anyone have any recs? I have a 140 watt one from wally world but I am wondering if there are some really good ones out there.

Re: Power inverters
 

What do you want to power with it? A light bulb is a lot different than a freezer.

Re: Power inverters
 

Oh, I'm not looking for anything in particular. I was just wondering if certain brands were known for better performance.

Re: Power inverters
 

Re: Power inverters
 

Powerstar, Hearth and Trace too but I think thery might be out of business.

A sign wave inverter is big bux but a modified FET inverters are much cheaper, rule of thumb is, double up on wattage needed so the unit will last.

I have a 1200 watt mod wave inverter for power tools and use the smaller ones for electronics power back up. Here's what you might use -

150 watter for a 13" TV, DVD player, clock radio etc ...

400 watter for desktop PC or 20" TV

700 watter for mini fridge (2 cu ft.)

1000 and up for power tools.

Most are over rated so buy bigger than you need. I use welding cables on my 1200 watt unit (rated at 2400 surge) , remember they drawing 10 times the amps on the input side, that 1200 watter that puts out 10 amps at 120 vac will draw 100 amps on the battery bank and up to 200 amps surge !

I don't use inverters to run big appliances that draw a lot of power for long periods of time like big refrigerators/freezers, but I will run my microwave oven or other large amp/short run time load.

A better answer for large loads like refrigerators is to buy a gas fridge. Old Norcold or Dometic units scavaged from RVs come to mind. Or you can shell out big bux for a 12 volt fridge.

- JMO

Re: Power inverters
 

:cool1: Depends on how big a unit you need.........

750- 1000 watts..........Cobra is very reliable......small power drain @ idle.
Under 1000 watts.........Powerex........makes an excellent unit...

Over 2000 watts..........Trace or Hart..........best of the breed....

Some of the smaller 200-750 watt Colemans are pretty decent for the money...........got a couple..........never had a failure in 5 years....just a little high on the amp drain @ idle.

Got two 1200 watt Cobras............excellent units for the money....

Avoid Whistler...........Cheap Asian junk........

Watch your surge ratings and amp draw at idle............read the specs before you buy.........also pay close attention to the duty cycle on the larger units............some are rated 50%.........not 100%......shop carefully............inverters can be a fiasco or a sound investment....lot's of real junk out there claiming high ratings with no guts to pull the long haul.
True sine waves will not be cheap.........unless you really need one full time for frequency sensitive appliances......the modified sine waves do a decent job.........a lot depends on what you are using an inverter for....be careful before you lay down the FRNs.................

Hope this helps..........I'm not an expert........just happen to own a couple....:coolbeer:

Re: Power inverters
 

As part of a solar/propane generator/deep cycle battery set up, my parents power a whole house with a trace true sine wave inverter (to include a water pump). Their fridge and dryer are gas. They haven't had any issues in ten years. Granted these babies aren't cheap.